Angel's Rising
by Sakure of Ice
Summary: Ayame Uchiha has woken up a different person with more enemies than ever. She now possesses a darkness with the potency to kill her. The only one that can save her is Itachi, but why would he care anyway? Naru X Sas X FFC.
1. Dreams

**_Chapter One: Dreams_**

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**Disclaimer: Nope.**

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"About time dear, you've been sleeping for days."

Ayame sat up and looked around. She was in a small room decorated with a lavender and white motif.

A woman kneeled beside her, pouring something into a lavender ceremonial dish.

"I was worried; you seemed to have gone through quite a lot before coming here."

"….If I may ask, how did I get here?"

The woman set aside the pot and handed her the dish.

"I brought you here. I used to be a shinobi myself, Konoha's black ops to be exact."

Ayame took a sip of the clear substance. It tasted sweet, but had a tart aftertaste.

"And you….you're Itachi's young sister, Ayame Uchiha."

"Good news travels fast, doesn't it?"

"Oh dear, he's not so bad if you can get past that tough exterior of his. He's a nice boy."

"I've never had the pleasure of meeting Itachi. I however have gotten to know the notorious Sasuke Uchiha."

"Well…..considering your past with him-"

"Consider nothing. He hates me and wants me dead. He can't own up to his mistakes so he takes it out on someone else."

"Well……, we'll continue later. It looks like the tea has taken effect."

Ayame was about to ask, but a hazy feeling flooded her senses, slowly bringing her down in a sea of bliss.

* * *

"Who else is here Atame Oba-chan?" 

"Someone I would like very much for you to meet."

It felt like somewhere between a dream and cruel reality.

Ayame climbed out of bed, drifting towards the voices that caused the clouds of her dream world to stir. She saw that it was the old woman speaking to a young man in ANBU gear.

When they fell silent, she knew they had sensed her.

Muttering an apology, she made to exit.

"Dear, would you mind coming to sit with us? There's someone I would very much like you to meet."

Ayame shook her head to clear the dream with no success.

"With all due respect Atame-San, I don't really think I can."

"So, this is the new arrival."

Ayame knew the voice to be Itachi's. She couldn't bring herself to encounter another Uchiha, not now.

"Should you be on your feet, so soon after birth?"

A sudden darkness descended upon the room. The blackness was so cold and potent, it made Atame shiver.

"I shouldn't be on my feet at all."

Bowing deeply to them both, she exited the room, taking the darkness with her.

Itachi said nothing for a while before rising from his chair.

"That much raw power can kill her."

"She shares the same darkness Sasuke possessed as a child."

"No. This darkness is much different. There's a certain resignation that resides in her. If someone were to tell her that they wished to take her life, she would have no objection."

He bowed respectfully and turned to leave.

"That worries me. This child could get hurt."

"What intriguers me is that the assailants wouldn't get close. Her madness will kill them before they can even draw a single breath of her air ."

Atame watched over the youth as she slept. Her aura was an ominous black, a sure sign of things to come.

"Such an innocent young girl. What pain must she endure before she can find happiness?"

* * *

The halls were dark and foreboding as she ran through them. The floors were cold beneath her bare feet, keeping her aware of her thudding heart. 

Was she running or was she searching?

Voices surrounded her every step she took, haunting her for reasons unknown. Warnings, prayers, chantings, whispers; but she couldn't tell what any of them were saying.

_Stop and look_

That voice rose above all others.

_Stop and look; isn't he beautiful?_

Dead end. She refused to turn. She knew she couldn't face it; not now.

_Look...he favors me..._

* * *

Ayame jerked awake, the sharingan coming to life, then dying again; taking away her energy. She dropped back onto her pillow, staring into desolate darkness. 

He haunted him even now. Or was it her conscience punishing her?

She forced herself to stand, muttering curses after a few false starts. She could feel her body rejecting the calm aura of the house, her blackness tainting anything she touched, only to be purified once more. The was no sound except the faint ringing of small bells.

Drawn to the sound, she found her way outside.

Everything was beautiful in the pale moonlight. Atame lived deep in the forests of an uncharted territory. She was surrounded by prairie land, trees, and a lake.

Everything was serene and clean, reaching out to her, rejected by her.

Ayame went on, following the sound of the bells. She found the sound, caused by silver bells swinging in the breeze. They were tied to a lone branch with a little girl's hair ribbon.

_Silver bells and lavender dreams brother……………_

Ayame shook the words away. "They mean nothing, so stop thinking about them."

She turned to the lake before her, glittering beautifully as if it were embedded with diamonds.

Ayame graced the water with her fingertips. Cold, just like her. Silently, she took off her gown and stepped into the water. The coldness seeped into her body, mingling with the ice that already existed.


	2. Innocence

_**Chapter Two: Innocence**

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**Disclaimer: The previous disclaimer will carry throughout the story**

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_I am not weak…………_

_I am not a victim………_

_I am not worthless……._

_I am not worthless……._

_How long do you plan to stay here?_

Ayame peered into a world of warped reality. She stood chained on a small podium, her hair wisping about as if she were still underwater.

_As long as it takes for the message to sink in._

He stood there, watching her with a lazy intensity. His eyes sharp with the sharingan.

_Suicide, the coward's way out._

_It's not suicide if you're not attempting it._

Silence.

_Escape from the chains._

Ayame looked at him with a flicker of question, before it died away. She analyzed her bondage: pure darkness. She tried to pour her own darkness into it, but only made herself weaken. She tried to draw the darkness in, but made herself grow cold until she nearly passed out.

_Darkness is not your weapon to use. Despite your past, you are too innocent to use such ice._

_So becoming the mother of evil incarnate doesn't cut it?_

Silence.

The chains dispersed as the strange reality faded into nothingness. The atmosphere now was dark and suffocating. She took a breath, only to meet the taste of cool water.

* * *

"Dear, why-" 

"I just wanted to swim, nothing else."

"Do you want any tea?"

"Only if it's not full of sedative."

The elderly woman left the room just as the elder Uchiha entered. Ayame said nothing, but pulled her legs into her chest.

"Subconscious suicide." He knelt beside her, facing away. "You possess the Tsukuyomi."

"………I never used it on anyone else."

"…….Your innocence, you couldn't use it on anyone else."

"….Why do you care? And why do you keep going on about innocence? I haven't been innocent for as far as I can remember, so drop it!"

Itachi was silent for a moment, before rising to leave. He mumbled his reply, then left just as Atame returned.

_Not you._


	3. Familiar Darkness

**_Chapter Three: Familiar Darkness_**

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"We have seen no sign of her body anywhere. The ANBU searched the area thoroughly and found no trace of her."

Naruto slammed his fist down on the table. He couldn't stand it, he just couldn't stand it.

"….I saw her on the ground. I saw her staring back at me. She was dead, she was dead…"

"Who would move her corpse?" asked Sakura "Not Sasuke, apparently he's on the lookout for her as well. Orochimaru too."

"I don't know, but I intend to find out."

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_"Please let me go!"_

_"No chance sweetheart!"_

_"Please!"_

_"I said shut up!"_

_"No! No! Please no!"_

"Ayame! Ayame stop! It's me, Atame!"

She woke up with a start, cold sweat dripping down her face.

"Ayame, what's wrong?"

She didn't answer. Echoes rang throughout her mind, getting louder by the second.

Without warning, she ran past Atame and out the front door. She ran and ran, not even knowing where she was to go.

A strong arm came around her waist and lifted her off the ground.

"Let me go! Let me go dammit!"

"Stop running, you have nothing to go back to or run from."

For some reason, that statement hurt, but she refused to let him see that.

He carried her in the opposite direction to the lake. Before she could ask what he was doing, he tossed her in the lake.

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_"I want you break the chains."_

It wasn't the same place as it was before. The chains came from nowhere, floating off in a dark abyss of endlessness.

Ayame pondered over what she could do.

"_Today, you are a princess."_

The memory ran through her mind like warm water.

The chains began to waver, as if they had somehow melted.

_Naruto's smiling face came into her mind, smiling at her genuinely._

Memories flowed through her mind, warming her and making her whole.

The chains soon melted away.

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Ayame opened her eyes and encountered the ghastly world. Without warning, she was swamped mercilessly with water. 

She clawed at the water, trying to reach some hold to take her above water, but to no avail.

The world was breaking up and plunging itself into a different darkness. A darkness that used to be comforting to her.

A darkness that would take everything.

Something she did not possess.

Not anymore.

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	4. Let Me Go

**_Chapter Four: Let Me Go_**

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Ayame awoke to the sound of silence. She tried to move her arms, but nothing happened.

"Atame has taken to strapping you down so you won't escape. I think it unnecessary."

Itachi sat next to her, staring down at her with blank eyes.

"Why won't you leave me alone?"

"……..When will you get it?"

"Get what?! You try to drown me, you constantly lecture me, and you use the sharingan on me on a daily basis! What do I need to get!?!"

"Each time you were under the Tsukuyomi, you were fully aware. You manage to break my bond, and not because you too possess this bloodline trait but because you possess the rarest one of the clan. You have the power to purify; the power to use light to attack your enemies."

"Whatever."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps you've been with Sasuke for too long."

"Want to try that again, _brother_?"

"Stop being so stubborn and open your eyes. You'll have to face him soon enough anyway so get over it and move on."

Ayame turned her back on him.

"You are leaving for Konoha today. Fix yourself up and get ready."

"Konoha is not my home."

"You're going dammit whether you like it or not."

"The only way you will get me to comply is if you drag me back."

Itachi's eyes were now narrowed to slits.

"As you wish."

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"What the hell?!"

"Put me down you bastard!"

Ayame kicked at him and clawed at him to let her go. He regarded her as nothing more than luggage.

They walked down the hall to the office of the Hokage, attracting the attention of everyone there.

"-so we will need to upload security at all of these major points, but only as a precaution-"

The door opened, surprising the shinobi greatly.

"Let me go you asshole!"

"I have brought back your shinobi, be sure to take care of her."

"Itachi!" Naruto made to stand, but was stopped by Sakura.

"You would do well to watch her-"

"I can watch myself!"

Itachi dropped her into a chair, then left in a gust of wind.

The room went silent.

Ayame didn't waste time, but quickly rushed to the door. Naruto beta her to it and grabbed her around the waist.

"Let me go!"

"After we searched like hell to find you?! No chance…"

"Dammit Naruto!"

She was seated once again, in from of a stunned Tsunade.

"Ayame, you are alive. Naruto said he saw you die."

"I did die."

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know who the hell you are anymore. Yuyiko is dead and the Ayame you tried to save did not survive."

"Ayame…"

Looking closely, Naruto could see the familiar coldness of her eyes. Dark……like onyx.

Like his.

Hell no, he thought. This isn't over………not by a long shot.

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End file.
